WEST JORDAN, Aug. 9, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A 25-year-old man has been booked into jail after a string of hit-and-run collisions Saturday night in West Jordan.
“I responded to a report of road rage,” say documents filed by an officer of the West Jordan Police Department in the arrest of Jose Francisco Martin Segovia.
“WJPD Officer Collins informed me when he arrived at the location, he observed the (man later identified as Segovia) in the driver’s seat of the vehicle and as the sole occupant of the vehicle. Officer Collins was in his marked patrol vehicle with his emergency lights activated and dressed in standard patrol uniform. The (man) failed to follow the instructions of Officer Collins to stop trying to start the vehicle and put their hands up. The (man) started the (his) vehicle and rammed Officer Collins’ patrol vehicle head-on.”
Collins commanded Segovia to stop, arrest documents say, but Segovia “refused and began to intentionally ram the passenger side of Officer Collins’ vehicle multiple times. Officer Collins told me as the (man) left, he attempted to hit Officer Collins.”
Police were first called to a rollover accident that happened at about 9100 S. Bangerter Highway at approximately 11:15 p.m. Saturday. Sgt. Kendall Holt, West Jordan Police, told Gephardt Daily the rollover involved a “truck that had been struck by a yellow Chevy truck that we later discovered might be the same truck” being sought in an earlier accident.
“So we sent down an attempt-to-locate, and about that same time, our dispatch received five or six calls about a truck of similar description that had caused several other accidents through the city of West Jordan, including the one we’re at here,” Holt said at the final scene.
“We were informed that the truck was allegedly ramming into vehicles and then would continue driving.”
Video by Gephardt Daily’s Monico Garza
Asked that night how many ramming incidents occurred, Holt said he knew of at least five.
Two collisions were on Bangerter Highway. The driver of a vehicle witnessed the first collision before having his own vehicle struck, Holt said.
Asked about motives for the apparent road-rage collisions, Holt said it was unclear.
“We’re unsure of what caused his actions. We’re still investigating that, but he definitely struck several vehicles and continued moving forward, and caused serious risk to others in the community.”
West Jordan police were informed a yellow pickup struck a vehicle near 5700 West and 7000 South, “and was trying to leave the scene,” Holt said. “His vehicle was somewhat disabled. So we sent officers expediting in that direction, trying to catch up with him so that we could obviously stop any further threats.”
The first arriving WJPD officer to reach that scene “tried making contact with him,” Holt said. “He refused to cooperate and would not comply with the orders given, and then he was able to start his vehicle again and head westbound along 7000 South. And at some point, he struck the officer’s vehicle several times as well.”
Holt said it was being investigated whether the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
“He definitely appeared to be acting erratic when we first made contact with him initially, acting erratic, and strange behavior for sure.”
Of the victims injured, none sustained life-threatening injuries, Holt said, adding that in at least one of the collisions, “It was pretty miraculous.” The five seat-belted occupants in one of the vehicles avoided critical injury despite several requiring extrication by fire and EMS crews, he said.
“They did have some heavy equipment there and heavy rescue equipment. There was some substantial risk at the time. I was informed that the truck was leaning back and forth. So we had officers and some bystanders holding the truck from rolling the rest of the way over.”
Segovia was taken to be checked out at a hospital, and on Wednesday, his probable cause statement showed up in the online court records.
He was arrested on suspicion of:
- Assault on peace officer/military force produce death/injury, a second-degree felony
- Property damage/destruction, loss greater than $5,000, a second-degree felony
- Assault by prisoner, a third-degree felony
- Fail to stop or respond at command of police, a third-degree felony
- Unlawful possession/purchase/transaction of a dangerous weapon, a class A misdemeanor
- Driving under the influence, first offense in 10 years, a class B misdemeanor
- Interference with arresting officer, a class B misdemeanor
- Use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor
- Disorderly conduct, an infraction
- No valid license, never obtained, an infraction
- Failure to register or expired vehicle registration, an infraction
- Failure to wear seat belt or properly adjust safety belt, an infraction
- Window tint violation, an infraction
Segovia was ordered to be held without bail.
